The 'Dead Zoo' , swordfish

Recently my six-year-old grandaughter asked me a question about a swordfish. Having answered her to the best of my ability I thought it would be a good idea to take her to see the one in the Museum of Natural History . Then I remembered it was no longer open. Apparently a staircase had collapsed when a group of teachers were using the non-public area and a decision was subsequently made by the Office of Public Works that the whole place was to be shut down indefinitly .
It is still unclear whether the whole premises was a danger to the public or whether the OPW took the opportunity of closing it down for some reason best known to themselves .
I remember visiting the 'dead zoo' as we called it at the time , when I was very young , seeing the swordfish , sawfish , hammerhead sharks and indeed the whole toolbox of exotic creatures , re-created rockpools that children could study in detail and at lenght , from the smallest insects to the huge whale skeleton hanging fron the roof . A place to go on wet Sunday afternoons .
Now this invaluable amenity is no longer available to the public .
There have been comments recently from represetitives of the OPW regarding the good works they undoubtly did at Farmleigh and the Collins Museum , and how the numbers visiting have increased following refurbishing .
Of course this is a good thing , but the OPW should remember that a museum is a place for learning and reflection , and expressions like throughput and footfall are more appropriate to shopping centres and supermarkets .
All we , as taxpayers , wish the OPW to do is to ensure that the place is kept secure , clean , structurally safe and the the giant gorilla's testicles are dusted from time to time .
Just because the place dates from the Victorian time does not mean that therefore everything about it is automatically out of date .
Children can , of course ,get all the information they require from the internet , but this does not , in my opinion , make natural history museums redundant . Seeing the actual physical creatures , up close and at leisure is important .
The excellent work that was done in the Collins Museum had a flaw . The Collins Museum was converted from an army barracks and because of that access and egress to and from the individual exibits is difficult , especially if one is in a hurry .
So please OPW return our 'dead zoo' as it was , as soon as possible .